Occasional Thoughts in Reference to a Vertuous or Cristian life by Lady Damaris Cudworth Masham
page 20 of 109 (18%)
page 20 of 109 (18%)
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And as plainly Irrational must it be to give, or require assent to any thing as a Divine Revelation, which is evidently contrary to Reason; no less being herein imply'd than that God has made us so as to see clearly that to be a Truth, which is yet a Falshood; the which, were it so, would make the Testimony of our Reason useless to us; and thereby destroy also the Credit of all Revelation; for no stronger proof can be had of the Truth of any Revelation than the Evidence of our Reason that it is a Revelation. Now if the Christian Religion be very often represented as teaching Doctrines clearly contrary to Reason; or as exacting belief of what we can neither perceive the Truth of, nor do find to be reveal'd by Christ, or his Apostles: And, (what is still more) that this pretended Divine Religion does even consist in such a Belief as This; so that a Man cannot be a Christian without believing what he neither from Arguments or Authority has any Ground for believing; what must the Natural Consequence of this be upon all whoever so little consult their Reason, when in riper Years they come to reflect hereupon, but to make them recal, and suspend, at least, their assent to the Truth of a Religion that appears to them thus Irrational? since an Irrational Religion can never Rationally be conceived to come from God. And if Men once come to call in question such Doctrines as (tho' but upon slender Grounds for it) they had received for unquestionable Truths of Religion, they are ordinarily more likely to continue Scepticks, or to proceed to an intire disbelief of this Religion, than to take occasion from hence to make a just search after its Verity: The want either of Capacity, Leisure or Inclination for such an |
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